Like Nate Berkus? How about Happiness? Well then, you’re in for a treat, as The Happiness Project’s Gretchen Rubin was recently a guest on The Nate Berkus Show talking about, what else? Happiness. She even does a happiness makeover on one lucky viewer.
Lucky duck!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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Have you ever noticed how some people do everything well and make you feel like crap, while others can do everything well and serve as inspiration? My high school friend Karen is in the latter category. Although we’ve not seen each other since we went to Israel together in 1986, we’ve reconnected through Facebook and have enjoyed catching back up.
My favorite adult discovery about Karen is that she’s an amateur cake maker, the likes of which are fantastical and awe inspiring. Take for example the Sesame Street theme birthday party she just put together for her three-year-old son, which included cake, handmade character candles, Elmo lollipops, Cookie Monster cookie bags and, well . . . I’ll let you just see for yourself:
Karen's Sesame Street cake. Note the detail around the windows, the "Super Grover" on the roof and pearlescence of the street lamps!
Ernie and Bert, fondant friends forever.
The party favors. Character crayons made from old broken crayons, Elmo lollipops and the cookie bags. So wish I had been invited!
My son’s 13th birthday party is one month away, and I am completely inspired to do something special. I have no idea what, but I am definitely going to start giving it some thought. Thanks for the inspiration!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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I’m not someone who has an across the board opinion about everything old being better than new. Lycra for example makes socks and jeans, oh, about 110% better than the baggy, saggy days of yesteryear. But there’s just no denying that countless older products were just manufactured to last. None of that planned obsolescence crap!
I made a nice big batch of peanut butter cookies yesterday, as I somehow possessed three simultaneously opened peanut butter jars. (Seriously, there is no sacrifice too large to make in the name of avoiding food waste!) I pulled out my cooling racks, and noticed how the two modern day cooling racks were so flimsy, one of them even broken. I then compared them to the one vintage cooling rack that is just as sturdy as the day it was first bought.
This irks me.
Why can’t modern day manufacturer’s produce things with an eye to lasting longer than a few years?
I guess they just don’t make ’em like they used to. I guess I’ll just file this under reason #759 why I do The Compact and try to buy nothing new.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
As sturdy as the day it was first bought!
Flimsy piece of crap!
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It’s time again for Non-Consumer Mish-Mash, where I write a little bit about this and a little bit about that.
Expiration Dates
The Boston Globe recently ran article exploring the issues related to food expiration dates titled When Good Things Happen to Good Food. In the piece, author Beth Teitell wrote that:
“A study by ShelfLifeAdvice.com and Harris Interactive concluded that more than three-quarters of US consumers mistakenly believe certain foods are unsafe to eat after the expiration date has passed. “The dates on food packages are very conservative,’’ Joe Regenstein, a professor of food science at Cornell University, and a member of the website’s scientific advisory board, said when the survey was released last year. “If the product was stored properly, it should last well beyond the date on the package.’’
However, the article does state statistics on food borne illness in the U.S. which I’m sure are vastly underreported. (I know I’ve never been to the doctor when I’ve been sickened by food, always from a restaurant.) Interesting stuff.
Either way, good information, and I’m happy to find out about Shelf Life Advice.com, which was new to me.
Advice From Anne Lamott
My neighbor and I went to go hear a reading last night at the Bagdad Theater with author Anne Lamott. This event sold out, despite capacity of 600 people. (Yes, I looked it up!)
It was not a normal author reading, where there’s actual . . . reading, but more of a free form event where Lamott did a Q & A, and even asked almost all of her own questions! I’m not complaining, as it was quite interesting, (although somewhat odd.) She even doled out writing advice, my favorite of which was:
Never name a character Brian, as you will misspell it as Brain, and the spellcheck won’t pick it up.
Good to know in case I ever start to write fiction.
Logo Update
I am redoing the logo for The Non-Consumer Advocate. Trish from Modern Thrifter and the husband and wife graphics team of The Mahoney was kind enough to send over a few preliminary sketches, which ya’ll weighed in on. You’ll be happy to know that I am moving forward with the Mason jar design, which was the overwhelming favorite. The final product will be very different from the initial drawing, and I’m very excited to see it.
This blog is a month shy of three years old, and like a closet full of mom jeans, it’s just time to freshen it up a bit.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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I drink more tea that I should be admitting to. It’s not unusual for me to down four or five big mugs of tea on a daily basis, and I’m not talking herbal tea here. I’m talking hot sweet milky tea. I’m fully aware that it’s a matter of caffeine dependence, because I get headaches when I go a day without it. (Like on super busy days at work.)
My father bought us a pricey electric tea kettle when the kids were wee, and I grew to love it. The convenience of knowing I could safely walk away from boiling water without worry served as peace of mind in the midst of otherwise hectic days. I loved this tea kettle so much so, that the faint click sound when it turned itself off would give me a palpable sense of relaxation. Ahhh . . .
Like a Pavlovian dog.
I had hoped that my tea kettle would last forever. But it stopped working a few years back, and despite my husband’s best efforts, could not be revived. So I bought a regular sit-on-the-stove tea kettle at Goodwill and got on with my life. But my husband recently located a supplier in England and ordered a new part. I was surprised that he had gone to the effort but didn’t really think much of it. That was, until he mentioned that the part cost $40, plus the exorbitant shipping!
And guess what? The tea kettle works again, but will no longer shut itself off. Which pretty much negates the whole point of a electric vs. stovetop tea kettle!
So yeah, I call that throwing good money after bad.
Stressed out now, need a cup of tea.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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Is your family working towards a less wasteful lifestyle? Well then, I have the perfect inspirational video for you to watch! Regular readers may recognize this family from the Sunset Magazine article a few months back. And although I think of myself as living a less-wasteful life, my family of four still puts out a half can of garbage per month.
If you’re wanting to learn more about this family, then make sure to check out their blog at The Zero Waste Home.
Really though, this video should be titled, “Kitchen Counter Porn.” Cause yeah, her kitchen counters are almost completely empty. Sigh . . .
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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Do a web search for green cleaning products on the internet, and you’ll find a bajillion results, ranging from expensive store bought products to a myriad of feel good homemade concoctions. Heck, I’ve even been known to post a recipe or two on this very blog. But really, the greenest cleaning methods have always been and will always be elbow grease. That’s right, fellow non-consumers, put your back in it, work up a sweat and git scrubbin’. The scientists behind toxic automatic shower cleaning sprayers and toilet cleaning tabs are selling you on the idea of a clean house without actual muscular effort. But unless you have physical limitations that bar your scrubbing power, chemicals that melt soap scum and water spots do you (and your, ahem . . . planet) a disservice.
I have a vintage bun warmer pan that I bought at Goodwill in 1990 or 91. It is the perfect pan for cooking pasta, because it weighs next to nothing and has a swivel top that allows for a small amount of steam to escape, thus avoiding the inevitable boil-over. I think I payed a buck or two. However, I recently burned the crap out of this pan, and was considering it a complete loss. I was even keeping an eye out at Goodwill for a replacement, when I remembered that my sister Jessica had given me a box of soapy steel wool pads for Christmas. (She knows me so well.)
So I rolled up my sleeves up and got my scrub on.
The burnt crud came off pretty easily. Not so easily that there was no satisfaction in the job, (what fun would that be?) and I was suddenly filled with childhood memories of my father scrubbing pots and pans to their very shiniest and showing them off to my sister and I, who were about as interested as toddlers at a meditation retreat. Luckily, my father swung by yesterday afternoon, and was appropriately impressed with my scrubbing prowess.
And yeah, my elbows are buttery soft. Thanks for asking.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
Before
After
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Today’s Non-Consumer photo essay is inspired by springtime, the smell of home baked pizza and a night spent listening to the rain.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
Last night's dinner was homemade pizza, baked on a garbage picked pizza pan. I find the crimped crust, lightly brushed with garlic butter to be especially pleasing.
I keep my bulk purchased yeast, (so cheap at Costco) in an old Ball jar. The repurposed top is from a salt container, which transforms into a pouring spout. I think I made this up, although I may have inadvertently borrowed this hack.
I always hang baskets of Fuchsias from my back porch. Instead of paying $20 apiece for them in May, I take advantage of Fred Meyer's once yearly sale of $3 for five starts. So, for $12, (which includes the potting soil!) I have three lush baskets to last me through the fall. Note the mismatched baskets, which were gleaned from assorted thrift stores.
One of the baskets hangs too high, so I added a couple of key chain rings to compensate. Note my mud farm. This area is excessively shady, and we will re-seed it within the next few weeks.
This cute reading area in my living room was put together through Goodwill, Craigslist and my mother's garage o' treasures. It is used more often than not by our cat, Hyena.
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Photo courtesy of The Frugal Girl
Week fourteen of the 52 Weeks, 52 Letters Project is upon us, and I just wrote up a letter to my friend Barbara who lives in Boston. She had been the recipient of a previous letter and made the mistake of reciprocating and thus became this week’s victim. 😉
Barbara and I were part of the same social circle in high school through Young Judea, and spent the year afterwards in Israel together. We had completely lost touch until a couple years back, and it has been wonderful to have her back in my life. Two adults, sadly 3000 miles apart, but still with a close connection. I love you Barbara!
I think I’m finally getting in the groove of handwritten letters, as they no longer feels stiff and awkward to compose. Something I no longer have to force onto myself. (Although really, 2011 may have to be known at the year I realized that my handwriting was beyond redemption. It is so truly awful!)
Have you been sending letters for 2011? Please note that this is not a challenge that had to be started on January 1st, so please jump in at any time.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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I worked the last two days and came home to a bazillion and three e-mails to slog through, as well as a delicious decision.
The e-mails were mostly comments from my piece on couponing, although there were also multiple e-mails about soccer, kid school stuff and random notifications of this and that. And for those of you who think I may be exaggerating, I currently have 659 unread e-mails in my inbox. (I check e-mail on two different computers, so it’s hard to keep up with.) Oy vey.
However, I did have an e-mail from Modern Thrifter’s Trish from design group The Mahoney, who is the graphic designer designing my new blog logo. She sent over a few preliminary sketches for me to start thinking about, which was the perfect e-mail to get after a long, long day at work. (We were busy, so I worked a 12 hour shift) Keep in mind these are just rough drafts, but I’d love your input.
I am leaning towards the 1st and 3rd choices, although worry that I can’t pull off the darling Mason jars, as I haven’t done any canning for at least four years. (Although I’d be happy to steam up the kitchen in the name of earning the right to live up to the first one!)
If you have an opinion, I would love to hear it, even it’s a brand new idea!
Thank you to the divine Trish Mahoney, whose blog and husband and wife design website are both eye candy for the design impaired such as myself. Check them out to get an idea of what I’m going for!
Katy Wolk-Stanley
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”
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